Industry News

State Senate Unanimously Approves Covid 19 Bill

April 16, 2020

The State Senate unanimously approved the Covid 19 bill and Governor Evers is expected to sign it today or tomorrow. The bill enables Wisconsin to qualify for additional federal dollars and makes the following changes of interest to the TLW:

Permits the Department Of Revenue to waive penalties and interest for individuals that fail to timely remit the sales taxes they have collected for the state during the public health emergency. Waiver will be on a case by case basis, if, in the Secretary of Department Of Revenue’s determination, that the person failed to timely remit those taxes due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak of 2020

Permit local governments to waive interest and penalties on late installments of property taxes if payment is received before October 1, 2020. In order to apply, a County Government must first pass a resolution authorizing municipalities, as well as determining hardship.

Temporary Suspension of the Unemployment Insurance waiting week. Specifies that the waiting week would not apply between March 12, 2020 and February 7th, 2021. Under current law, a Unemployment Insurance claimant is eligible for 26 weeks of benefits, though they must wait 1 week before filing. This allows them to file immediately, but still only provides 26 weeks of benefits.

Unemployment Insurance claims filed during the public health emergency will not be charged to an employer’s account. Between March 12th, 2020, and December 31st, 2020, Unemployment Insurance benefits related to a claim related to a Public Health Emergency would be charged to the balancing account of the Unemployment Insurance trust fund instead of an employer’s account to protect employers from being penalized for layoffs caused by COVID-19.